Charles Shepherd is a private physician with a longstanding personal interest in ME/CFS - having developed the condition following an episode of chickenpox that he caught from one of his hospital patients.

He has been involved with all aspects of the illness - benefits, management, research, services - for over 30 years.

He was a member of the Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS and the Medical Research Council's Expert Group on ME/CFS research.

He is currently a member of the DWP Fluctuating Conditions Group, whose recommendations regarding changes to the way eligibility for work-related sickness benefits (ie ESA) are assessed is currently being tested in an evidence based review. He is also involved with parliamentary work - including forming part of Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on ME at Westminster.

His research involvement includes supervising all the research that is currently being funded by the ME Association - in particular the setting up of an ME Biobank for blood samples at the Royal Free Hospital in London - and is an Executive Board member of the UK ME/CFS Research Collaborative. Research interests include the role of vaccines as trigger factors for ME/CFS and muscle/mitochondrial abnormalities in ME/CFS

Dr Shepherd's views are frequently sought by the press, BBC radio and television. He has recently been involved with items on ME/CFS in the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times.

He has written a self-help guide for people with ME/CFS ('Living with ME' - Vermilion) and guidelines for health professionals ('ME/CFS/PVFS: An Exploration of the Key Clinical Issues' - MEA) along with numerous contributions to medical publications.

He is married with three children and lives in Gloucestershire.

Related Links

ME Association